They built it, and we came!

With this being our last year in Iowa, we want to make sure that we do everything that we have said in years past that we should do but haven't yet gotten around to. This weekend we checked another item off our Iowa "to do" list (it isn't very long) when we went to the actual Field of Dreams. We hit up Dyersville to check out the iconic movie set, and it did not disappoint!

Just like you would expect, the baseball diamond and farmhouse were surrounded by cornfields in the Middle of Nowhere, IA.

We got out our baseballs, bats, and mitts and did what we do best: play!

Eli spent the majority of his time chewing on his baseball bat. He was as content as could be just chilling in the middle of the baseball diamond.

Hmmm... what's this?

I better taste it to make sure it's ok.

Yeah, this is some good stuff.

Of course, it wouldn't be a true trip to the Field of Dreams unless we took some time to disappear into the corn.

The Field of Dreams was a surprisingly peaceful place. The weather was perfect, the grass was the greenest I've ever seen, and I just let my boys run wild and be in their element. It was the perfect way to spend a beautiful autumn day in Iowa.

As they say in the movie,

"Is this heaven?"

"No, it's Iowa."

We miss them already

This past week we had the most wonderful visit from my sister Bethany, my sister-in-law Abby, and her two kids Isaac and Kate. They drove all the way from Ohio just to see us for a few days, and we had such a great time with them. I'm not sure who had more fun, the adults or the kids! Abby's two kids are almost the exact same age as my two kids, so they always have a blast when they're together, especially Jake and Isaac.

While they were here, we tried to make the most of our time together. We went to Joseph's softball game in which he claims to have hit a home-run on the very first pitch, which we obviously missed because we're always late with all these kids we have to get ready. The jury is still out on whether or not he actually did.

Softball games are always fun for us to go to because the kids always have a ball (get it?) just running around. It's even more fun when you have your cousin to throw dirt around with.

Did I mention Eli is a crawling maniac these days? He is getting so fast I can barely keep up with him! For the most part he was content just crawling around the tables. I shudder to think what he may have gotten a hold of on the ground underneath those tables, but he sure was happy!

Bath time became a necessity after some serious dirt throwing:

We also went apple picking while they were all in town! I love apple picking. We used to go often when I was a kid and it always bring back fun memories.

A tractor pulled us out to the orchards:

There was a plethora of apples to choose from:

The kids were so excited about the apples that they ran as fast as they could toward the trees:

They were fun to pick:

And even more fun to eat:

As usual, Eli enjoyed it all from his stroller. He's such a content little baby:

Then afterwards, Aunt Abby treated everyone to apple cider and warm donuts. YUM!!

There were also lots of games that were played, books that were read, parks that were run around in, and toys that were used. And now they're gone. *Sigh* We loved having them around and can't wait until Christmas when we'll all be together again. Have I mentioned that I love family visits??

By the River

One of our family's favorite things to do in Iowa City is to go to the Coralville Dam and take walks on the bridge overlooking the Iowa river. We used to live right by the river in our old apartment and we would go at least once a week. Now that we've moved farther away we don't go as often, but it's still a pretty common Sunday afternoon activity, and something that Jake especially enjoys.

Eli getting ready to go on the walk

Joseph pointing out the ducks to Jake

Throwing sticks into the river

And what kid wouldn't love to go to the river when you've got a pal like Dad to take you around?

Remembering

I'm feeling particularly sentimental today. I'm looking out my front window right this moment and there's an American flag in my neighbor's yard waving in the breeze. It wasn't there yesterday, but today it has been put up as a beacon of remembrance for our country. Everywhere I look today I'm reminded of the date: September 11, 2011.

It's hard for me to believe that a full ten years has passed. To be honest, I didn't even realize on that day what September 11, 2001 would come to mean. In ten years, I still haven't documented where I was and what I felt, but it seems like it might be appropriate on a day like today. It may not be a story that everyone is interested in reading, but one day my kids, who will only ever know about 9-11 from their history books, may want to know what it was like for their parents. I suspect that most of us had similar experiences. This is how it was for me.

I was a junior in high school. It was a typical September morning for me. I was more concerned about how I was going to get my physics homework done that was due in Mr. Mac's class that afternoon than anything else. I was with Joe Iacco talking to him at his locker between classes when his best friend Kyle Williamson, who was known to skip out on first and second hours occasionally to sleep in, came up and asked us if we had heard about the twin towers. We had no idea what he was talking about. He told us that he had skipped first and second hours and was watching the news about how two planes had crashed into the towers. I'm a little embarrassed to admit it, but my first thoughts were, "Really? Could they not see the towers there? These people need to learn how to fly planes."

It wasn't until I learned that not only did planes crash into the twin towers, but also into the Pentagon that I knew that this was something more than just some idiot pilots who had lost their sense of direction in the sky. All of a sudden I remember panic starting to creep in. Soon everyone was talking about it, but no one really knew what was going on. Some parents were coming and taking their kids out of school. Mine didn't. People started talking about how the principal was going to close the school for the rest of the day. She didn't. Then there was talk about how Midland, Michigan was next on the hit list. It wasn't. I went to Joe's house for lunch and watched the footage on TV. His mom talked about awakening the sleeping giant. I was terrified.

When I went home for the day, my family and I just sat and watched the TV. It was on all day. All other programs were cancelled. The news kept showing the same footage over and over and over, but each time I saw it, it was like I had never seen it before. I still felt shocked every time that plane hit the tower. It was astounding to me that anyone would deliberately attack the United States. I had never heard of Osama Bin Laden. I had no idea what the Taliban was, much less Al Qaeda. All I knew was that someone was going to pay for this.

As I look back on that day, the thing that strikes me the most is how keenly I felt the pain and loss of people I had never met and a place I had never been. I took it so personally. It was as if the attack HAD been in my own backyard. The attacks had no direct consequence on me, a junior at Dow High School, other than the fact that now when I flew on an airplane I had to take my shoes off as I went through security. But in that moment I felt like the attack was on me and my family. I suspect that that's how it was for most people. That's why all of us remember exactly where we were when it happened. The attack was not on New York. The attack was on America. It was on me. I was New York. I was D.C. Everyone had a personal sense of loss for our brothers that we hadn't met, and thus, our entire nation came together and grieved. It was incredible.

More than anything, today I'm reminded of how precious our lives are. After we put the kids to bed tonight, Joseph and I sat and watched a beautiful tribute to 9/11. When Jake got out of bed in the middle, instead of sending him right back as we normally would, we let him snuggle on the sofa with us. As they showed pictures of the towers, Jake leaned in to me and said, "Mommy, I love you." Although it was a terrible moment in our history, I am grateful for the perspective that it gives me. I'm grateful for the opportunity to sit today and reflect. I hope to never forget.

Patriotism

Joseph and I like to tag-team bed time. He almost always puts Jake to bed while I put Eli to sleep in a separate room. The other night I was a little preoccupied with other things so Joseph got way ahead of me in putting the kids to bed. I went to put away laundry in Jake's room and walked in on them doing this:

Unbeknownst to me, every night as part of their bedtime routine they say the Pledge of Allegiance! Talk about patriotism! Next up: The Preamble. Love these guys!

The first day of the rest of his life

Jake woke up this morning SO excited. Today was his first day of preschool! He goes Tuesday and Thursday mornings to an adorable little preschool called Kinderfarm. I thought that since he's still a little young we would only do the twice a week program, and Kinderfarm seemed like a great fit for Jake since it's on a farm (only in Iowa, right?) where they learn not only about letters and numbers, but they also feed the chickens and goats and ride horses and tractors and all kinds of cool farm stuff that kids love!

As excited as I am about Jake going to Kinderfarm, there is a small (ok, maybe quite large) part of me that is really sad to see him leaving me twice a week! The beginning of the rest of his life started today now that he's in school. The funny thing to me is that Joseph is still in school, too. Poor Jake, watching his dad he's going to think that school never ends. Well, in our house it certainly seems that way!

So excited for the van to come pick him up!

Watching and waiting for the van

Even though it's hard watching your first child go to school for the first time, I enjoyed a very relaxing morning all by myself while Eli slept. I think I could get used to it.

Amber waves of grain

I took my nifty new camera out the other night because I wanted to capture the beauty of Iowa. During this time of year, Iowa truly is breathtaking. I don't think I did it justice, but here are a few that I got: